It's My Job
by Kemnam
Summary: It has been my entire life. You think I'm just going to blow it off because it's the end of the world? Hell no! Get ready Lucifer, 'cause I'm coming for you. Alternate ending to Season 5 "Swan Song". It's good, I swear! But, uh... character death.
1. Devil Went To Detroit

Disclaimer: No, I do not own them. Sam and Dean and respected characters and ideas belong to Supernatural.

A/N: So basically, this is Swan Song the way I would have wanted it to end. I have no problem with how they did it on TV, cause at least they left room for another season and more awesomeness. But this has been nagging at me to be written down, and it's short, so I knew I could do it in one night.

* * *

_Carry in my wayward son_

_there'll be peace when you are done_

_lay your weary head to rest_

_don't you cry no more_

…_..._

"Yes."

There was a blinding light as Lucifer's currents vessel broke apart and engulfed the brothers. When the light died down, Dean opened his eyes. Lucifer was gone, and Sam was on the ground. Adrenaline immediately kicked in, and Dean knew he had to act fast. He drew the rings from his pocket, and searched for a place to place them. He lightly threw them against the nearest wall, and wasn't at all surprised when they stuck to the old-plastered surface. He held his hand out and chanted the words he had memorized from Castiel.

"_Bevo tamo en, tabege sa baba lo ed."_

The wall opened up to a gaping hole. The air and any loose object on the floor and in the room was sucked into it's endless void. Dean rushed over to Sam, who was awake and struggling to get up. He called his brothers name, kneeling down beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder. Sam's face contorted in pain and he groaned. Reaching out to his brother, he said, "I can feel him!" Sam moaned again, this time the pain more eminent in his voice.

Dean grabbed Sam under the arm and tried to pull him to his feet.

"You got to go now." Dean ordered. "Come on!"

He hefted Sam to his feet. "Got to go now, Sammy." Dean stared hard at his brother. When Sam hesitated, Dean repeated the last order. "Now!"

Sam stumbled forward towards the whole, but stopped when he was mere feet from the darkness. Dean watched his brother, mixed emotions swirling around in his gut. But as he watched, his brothers shoulders stopped heaving, and he stood up straight. When Sam turned around, his face had a cruel smile playing on his lips. Sam...if he was still in there...gave a pardoning frown and clasped his hands together in front of him.

"I was just messing with you." His voice had changed as well. Dean stared at the man in front of him as if he was a stranger that had dumped a bucket of water on him. "Sammy's long gone."

Lucifer turned back to the opening to his cage and glared at it.

"_Ka hee dera, bevo tamo en."_

Dean winced at the sharp sound of the hole closing. The devil reached forward and plucked the rings from the wall. He turned around and walked forward, examining the key to his hated cage. Then he looked up and gave Dean a pitying look. Dean glared back.

"I told you." Lucifer said softly. "This would always happen in Detroit."

Dean didn't say anything, his face betraying his emotions. The devil disappeared and Dean walked forward slowly.

_No..._

Dean turned a full circle, bringing his hands over his head. His eyes became shiny as his emotions started to take him over.

_What have I done?_

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A/N: Yeah, so the first couple of chapters I wrote off of what really happened in Swan Song. My part starts coming in when Dean drives off to the cemetery. I don't know what chapter that is now, so hang tight. In the mean time, read, review, and enjoy!_  
_


	2. No Hope

A/N: So, second chapter up in less than a minute. The stories already done, so I'm just gonna post all the chapters. I know they aren't long, but they're broken up that way for dramatic effect, I guess.

* * *

_Once I rose above the noise and confusion_

_just to get a glimpse behind the illusion_

_I was soaring ever higher_

_but I flew too high..._

Dean, Castiel, and Bobby stood in front of the advertised TV's in the store front. None of them portrayed good news. Sirens wailed in the distance. Castiel walked in front of Dean

"It's starting." He mumbled.

Dean followed him with his eyes. "Yeah, you think, genius?"

"You don't have to be mean." Castiel said over his shoulder.

"So what do we do now?" Dean asked.

Castiel thought for a moment. "I suggest we embied copious quantities of alcohol," the angel shook his head. "And wait for the inevitable blast wave."

"Yes, well thank you, Percowski." Dean was getting irritated. "I mean how do we stop it?"

Castiel turned around and faced Dean.

"We don't." He said, his voice firm. "Lucifer will meet Micheal on the chosen battle field... and the battle of Armageddon will begin."

"Okay well, where's this chosen field?" Dean persisted. The angel shook his head.

"I don't know." He said, turning away from Dean.

"Well, there's got to be something we can do!"

"I'm sorry Dean, this is over."

"You listen to me you jugless sissy," Dean's voice was dangerously low. "We are not giving up! Bobby..."

Dean spun to face the elder hunter expecting to see as much determination as Dean felt. But he was met with a solemn, exhausted expression.

"Bobby?"

The Elder hunter look up into Dean's questioning eyes. "There was...never much hope to begin with." Sam's loss had affected him just as much as it affected Dean. Even though he had just gotten his legs restored, the hunter looked more broken then ever. "I don't know what else to do."

The words penetrated Dean deeply, and he switched his worried gaze from Bobby to Castiel, then finally to the ground.

The emotions Dean had managed to bottle up became uncorked and threatened to take him over again. Dean refused to give into them however, and steeled his features. He spun on his heels and walked off into the streets. Bobby and Castiel looked at each other then followed Dean. Dean himself didn't really know where he was going. He just knew what he had to do. It was time to give Chuck a call.

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A/N: So this was also taken from Swan Song, this is the scene after Lucifer is talking to Sam in the mirror. please! read, review, and enjoy!


	3. Older Brothers, what can you do?

A/N: So this is basically where I start. I guess the idea from here on out is mine, but the first part in the alley is still from Swan song.

* * *

_Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man_

_though my mind could think I still was a mad man_

_I hear the voices when I'm dreaming_

_I can hear them say..._

"You going some place?" Bobby's voice called from down the alley. He and Castiel walked toward Dean, who was getting ready to get into the Impala and drive away. "You're going to do something stupid. You got that look."

"There's something I gotta do." Dean said, using the exact same words he had said to Lisa. "I can still save Sam."

Bobby sighed through his nose. "You just don't give up, do you?"

"It's SAM!"

"If you couldn't reach him here, you sure as hell won't be able to reach him on the battlefield." Castiel said, leaning against the car.

"Well if we've already lost, I guess I've got nothing to loose. Right?" Dean snapped. There was a pause between all three.

"I just want you to understand." Castiel spoke up. There was sorrow in his eyes. "The only thing you're going to see out there, is Micheal killing you're brother."

Dean could only imagine. He had never seen angel's fight before, but he had seen the carnage in the aftermath. He could imagine it to be one hell of a show. But to see it from a first person perspective...if this went the way Dean wanted it to, then maybe, just maybe, he could save _both_ of his brothers.

"Well then I'm not letting him die alone." Dean looked back and forth between the two. "Please, don't follow me. I have to do this alone. It's...it's been good knowing you both." Dean smiled at them.

"You suck at good bye's, you know that?" Bobby asked, his voice sad. The two hunters embraced, and then Dean and Castiel gave each other acknowledging nods.

With that, Dean got into his car and turned on the engine, and drove away.

* * *

Stull Cemetery. Who would have thought? Dean vaguely remembered the old bone yard out on the outskirts of town, but it had never occurred to him that this would have been the place Micheal and Lucifer fought it out. Dean had no idea that, when he drove down that faded dirt road blasting "Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard, that he was entering the biggest fight of his life. Dean knew he was going to die at the end. Whether it be Lucifer beating the crap out of him, or Death coming to reap him for breaking the deal. _Screw the deal. I've got a job to do._

Dean pulled up to the angels, who were squared off at each other. Dean would have liked to think that they were surprised to see him, but he was a Winchester. If he was anything, it was predictable. Lucifer was still wearing Sam. And Micheal, wearing Adam. The youngest of the Winchesters. Dean knew that they were only half brothers, but he still felt a pang of caring for the young man, along with the need to protect. It must have just been ingrained in him from all those years of doing the same for Sam. Dean parked the car and climbed out, hanging on the door of the car. "Howdy, boys." Both angel's glared at him. _Oh if looks could kill._ At least now he had their attention.

"I'm sorry am I interrupting something?"

Micheal turned the rest of his body toward his former "true" vessel.

"What are you doing here?" He asked sternly.

"Oh, nothing, just came to watch." Dean closed the door. "But I seem to have forgotten the popcorn."

"Dean, even for you, this is a whole new level of stupid." Lucifer hissed.

"Why? I'm not doing anything. Just pretend I'm not here." Dean came around in front of the Impala and leaned against the fender. They both continued to glare at him. Dean sighed. "You know what they always say; if you can't beat them, sit and watch, it'll be one hell of a show."

Dean's plan was to let them brawl out a little, hope he survived that, and then, in the right opportunity, make his move.

Both angel's snorted, but turned back to each other. Both of them knew that Dean by himself would do no apparent harm. Lucifer balled one hand into a fist.

The fight was too fast for Dean to follow, but he saw Micheal block Lucifer's blow to his face. Then Micheal followed through with an underhand blow of his own. But Lucifer jumped away and grabbed Micheal by the lapels of his shirt. With all his strength, Lucifer vaulted Micheal over his head and threw him into a gravestone. The headstone shattered and bit's of stone flew everywhere. But without blinking and without a sound, Micheal returned to his feet and ran at Lucifer. Lucifer braced himself.

When the two collided, an enormous shock wave emanated from them. It passed through Dean, disorientating his organs for a moment. The windows on the Impala shattered, and the remaining gravestones jumped off the ground and fell again, disorganized and sideways. Tree roots erupted from the ground, bursting into flames, but at the same time the trees shed all their leaves and sprouted new ones. Clouds swirled in the sky like they do on those nature shows when they speed up time.

Dean frowned at the windows. Already, not even five minutes into the fight, chaos had erupted. But from what Dean saw of the fight so far, it was going as Dean thought it would. Lucifer was winning. He was faster, stronger, and more elusive. Dean didn't know if it was because Micheal was lagging, maybe having gotten soft from being up in heaven too long. Or maybe it was the vessel.

The fight went on, and so far, it had been contained in the cemetery. Large amounts of ground had been uprooted, gravestones and trees had been toppled. The air rained in some parts, snowed in others, and was over 100 degrees in other parts of the cemetery. There were patches of thick woods teeming with birds and life, and then there were barren waste patches, where not even bacteria lived. In one moment that it stopped lightning and fire storming, the angels healed their mangled bodies, giving themselves the proportion and anatomy that had been beaten out of them. Dean had been dodging each blast of life and death that the angels were pounding into the earth. Mushrooms grew on the shoulder of his leather jacket, and his left eyebrow and a small triangle of his hairline was white as if from trauma. As he watched the two angels heal themselves, it was so painfully obvious that Lucifer was healing faster than Micheal, as Lucifer had already tackled him again before he could restore his own face. Dean brushed the mushrooms off his shoulder and stomped out a fire on the ground next to him. He knew his moment was coming, soon. Very soon.

Lucifer had Micheal on the ground, and was throwing punch after punch. Micheal managed to get Lucifer off of him with a powerful punch to his face, making his nose break and immediately start bleeding. Lucifer reeled back and paused for a split second, and Micheal sprang to his feet. Then Micheal changed his tactic. He ran for a felled tree. He jumped over it and hid behind it, waiting for the correct moment to strike.

"So this is what it's come to." Micheal jumped by the sudden presence beside him. Dean was kneeling down beside Micheal. Micheal was not surprised by Deans physical state. It was only natural that such things would happen around two angels dishing out their powers as he and Lucifer were. In truth, the things that Micheal and Lucifer were firing at each other were what the humans now called 'miracles'. To humans, they were remarkable events that had no explanation or answer. To angels, they were ammunition.

"Dean?"

"Micheal," Lucifer said, having already recovered from his broken nose. "This isn't the time to be playing hide and seek."

"What do you want?" Micheal hissed at Dean.

"Come on, you think I can't see what's happening here?" Dean scrunched up his face, which looked strange with one white eyebrow. "He's whooping your ass, man."

Micheal glared at Dean for a split second, then ducked when he heard Lucifer looking for him.

"I have a strategy."

"What, get beaten to a pulp and let him win?"

"No!" But Micheal didn't continue. Realization dawned on Dean.

"Oh, I see. You don't want to win." Dean smirked.

"No, I have to win. I have to destroy Lucifer." Micheal said, his tone straight. He looked out at Dean with Adam's eyes. "But, how can I expect it to be easy, when he's my blood, my bone, the brother I raised?"

Dean stared at Micheal. Where had he heard those words? Where had he felt those feelings? Dean didn't think it was possible to sympathize with an angel. Could this guy really be an archangel? _As it is in Heaven, so shall it be on Earth..._

"But he betrayed our father. And that's is an unforgivable sin." Micheal's voice hardened again. "So I must face him."

"But you can't, not with Adam." Dean looked the angel up and down. The body was almost unharmed, but there were bruises that had not completely healed, and small paper-cut scars that marred the angels image. "He's not your 'true' true vessel."

"My vessel has to be the brother of Lucifer's vessel."

"No, your vessel has to be the _older _brother of Lucifer's vessel." Dean crept a little closer. "Adam, is eight years younger than Sam. I'm four years older. You're fighting a broad sword with a straw, Micheal."

Micheal knew Dean had a point. An older brother like himself would hold far more power than a younger half-brother like Adam. But was Dean just pointing this out for no reason?

"So? What can you do about it?"

Micheal couldn't decipher the sudden look on Dean's face. Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.

"I can help you." Dean said, and he felt strangely calm and focused as he said the next words. "Take me."

Micheal froze. He looked Dean over. He was expecting a sudden disclaimer statement, the old 'psych!' and punch in the face that Micheal was accustomed to dealing with. But Dean was still waiting for Micheal to reply. "Wait, are you saying...?"

"Yes." Micheal didn't react, so Dean said it again. "Yes. Take me, leave Adam, restored and whole. I'll fight with you. And we can take Lucifer together."

Micheal stared at Dean hard, and it all became clear. "So this is what you came for."

"Oh, there you are." Lucifer said, walking over to their hiding place. Fire burned the earth where ever Lucifer stepped.

"Are you sure?" Micheal said, keeping his eyes trained on Dean. For some reason, the angel decided to give him a choice. No way was he a part of Team Free Will. It was just... he wanted Dean to know he was going to lose everything. And be okay with it.

Lucifer was only a couple meters away. The tree they were hiding behind started to grow leaves that were burning.

"Yes." Dean said. His tone filled with finality.

The angel grabbed Dean by the collar and pulled him close, his eyes burning bright white and his mouth shining with a white mist. Dean eyes reflected the light as the mist snaked into his mouth and nose. Adam's body fell the to ground, Dean's body jerked and caved on itself. Lucifer looked over the tree to see the two men. As soon as he laid eyes on Dean, a horrible spike of terror jolted through his body. Even the real Sam inside let out a cry of anguish. Dean threw his head back and arms out, his mouth and eyes wide open. Lucifer sprinted only a few yards away before the explosion rang out.

Everything was covered in a bright light.

* * *

A/N: You probably guessed it. But not everything is as it seems. I've thought long and hard about this. Please keep reading, reviewing, and enjoying!


	4. If you love him

A/N: The fight continues, and now the playing field had been even, if not tipped the other way. But Dean has a plan.

* * *

_Masquerading as a man with a reason_

_my charade is the event of the season_

_and if I claim to be a wise man well_

_it surely mean's that I don't know_

Lucifer coughed up dirt and ash. He rolled over on the ground and propped himself up on his elbows. He couldn't see anything for a few seconds, as he only heard the chirping of birds and the crackle of burning objects. Blurs and shapes came back into focus, then details started to come back, and then more details. Lucifer registered a black figure standing a little off into the distance. His head was hung and he wasn't moving. Lucifer scrambled to his knees, bracing himself with one hand on the ground and the other the left over 'miracle' from his eyes. Finally, everything was focused. Lucifer was greeted with the sight of Micheal, eyes closed and fully restored to his awesome glory. White light in the shapes of the angel language were written on his face and arms, and read words like, 'sword', 'wrath', and 'son'. The words faded, and Micheal opened his eyes, the white light trapped behind his eye lids escaping and fading like two dying suns. Lucifer found that he was shaking.

"Micheal," Lucifer said with awe and terror. "What have you done?"

Micheal turned around, and Lucifer could almost hear Sam's cry of dismay.

Dean...or Micheal, now...looked at Lucifer, then down at his former vessel, Adam. Adam gasped, and looked up at Dean. There was barely a conscious light behind his eyes. But he could tell that the burden that he had thrust upon himself had just been transferred. The power that was emitted off of Dean's body choked Adam. Guilt, if anything, was what Adam felt right now. He had so wrongly jumped at the chance to be the vessel, not even knowing the full extent of the consequences, ignoring the warning and pleads that Sam and Dean had given him. Adam knew after he had been thrown into the corner of his own mind that he would die with Micheal, and had given up. But then the light was gone, and he was restored to his own capabilities. A sacrifice Dean made, and Adam did not think in the slightest that he deserved it. "Dean..." Adam croaked.

Micheal looked back at him.

"Thank you, you have served well." Micheal whispered. Adam blacked out, his last thoughts of gratefulness and sorrow.

Micheal turned his attention back to his brother. Lucifer stared back with an amused expression. He had regained his confidence.

"You honestly think that switching vessels is really going to give you an advantage?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes, I do." Micheal said, climbing over the tree he was hiding behind. He held up his hand and blasted a miracle at Lucifer's chest. Lucifer brought up his arms to block the blast, but the force of the miracle was more that he had expected, and ended up shattering all the bones in his arms and hands into a million pieces. He was forced off of his feet and thrown meters back into a patch of ground covered in mud.

As Micheal watched as Lucifer scrambled to get up with his arms like ropes, he felt a small worm of consciousness wiggle into his thoughts.

_"Micheal, can you hear me?" Dean's voice said._

_"Yes," his booming voice answered back. "But that doesn't mean I have to listen to you."_

_"Thanks, that's all I needed to know." Dean melted away again, forced back by the angels overpowering might.  
_

Micheal faced Lucifer. He had finished healing, only because Micheal had allowed it to be. Micheal too had healed Dean's already battered body, his hair and eyebrows were their normal colors once again, and his skin was flawless and healthy. Lucifer did not attack, and Micheal took an experimental step towards his younger brother. Lucifer launched a miracle at Micheal, which he easily dodged. A might oak tree exploded out of the ground meters behind Micheal. Power surged through his limbs, and as he curled his hands into a fist, small rose bushes started to grow at his feet. Micheal couldn't help but grin at that.

"What's the matter, Lucy?" Micheal asked mockingly as the branches of the rose bushed started to twine around him, small buds sprouting. "What happened to that bravado and confidence from before?"

"It's not 'Lucy', anymore." Lucifer growled. He hated that pet name with a burning passion. And how dare Micheal steal his favorite flower. "'Lucy' is a skinny blonde angel with tiny wings."

One branch of a rose bush curled around Micheal's shoulder, the bud blooming into a beautiful flower of a vibrant white. Micheal grabbed the flower and smelled the sweet soft fragrance. He crushed the rose in his hands, and dropped the petals to the ground. And the fluttered to the earth, each on that hit the grass opened a chasm bigger and bigger at Micheal's feet. The chasm opened across the ground, under Lucifer's feet and spouted fire and smoke in the angel's face. Lucifer jumped, landing about thirty feet in the air. But he was not alone. Micheal was already there, waiting for Lucifer. He grabbed Lucifer's throat and shoved the angel down into the earth. Lucifer's spine snapped in five places when he made contact with the ground at 150 miles per hour.

"I was always better than you," Micheal said, who was standing right over Lucifer. "I was the better fighter, the most loyal. Overall, the better angel."

Micheal stomped on Lucifer's chest, breaking almost all ribs and cracking another vertebrae. Thunder cracked the sound barrier, which in turn caused the earth to quake and the chasm behind them to fill up with water and fifteen different kinds of fish. Micheal picked Lucifer up by the shoulder and held him up at arms length, his feet not even touching the ground. Micheal felt his hatred welling as he watched Lucifer heal himself, his brothers power rushing through his body.

"But Dad always loved you the most." Micheal hissed. With and outraged roar, he tossed Lucifer over his head, and with his voice amplified by thunder, bellowed "He was always the most proud of you. Said you were the light that would change the world. That's why he named you Lucifer."

Lucifer hit a tree, causing that tree to grow another fifty feet tall and burst into flames. Blood leaked from Lucifer's lips. Why wasn't his healing process as fast as it was before? Had he lost power somewhere in the fight. _No..._ Lucifer thought to himself. It wasn't that he had slowed down, but that Micheal had gotten so much power from Dean that his attacks were making it seem like Lucifer's healing was slow. And Lucifer generally healed himself at the speed of light. The tables had obviously turned.

"So that's what I don't understand, Luc." Micheal stood in front of Lucifer as his brother quickly tried to heal himself while also trying to run away. But it was hard to run with a broken pelvis. "Why did you rebel? You had a family that loved you, a perfect world. But you crack under one simple command." Micheal's voice cracked with sorrow at the memory. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"You're blind, Micheal. God has deluded your mind with love and passion, when all he's ever done is tricked us into hating each other. And now, it's lead us to killing each other." Lucifer's voice was filled with malice, his teeth stained red. "If god truly loved us, he never would have made me who I was, and never would have created man." Lucifer gestured at himself. "It's because of God's so-called destiny, that you and I have to suffer, you and I have to fight, and you and I have to die."

"You're wrong, Lucifer." Micheal was on Lucifer in a second, before he could react. "The only one that's going to die here is you."

Micheal had Lucifer by the lapels of Sam's jacket. Lucifer glared down at Micheal, and his brother stared back equally intense. Lucifer suddenly gasped as Micheal's power invaded his body, crashing, crushing, and tearing into every crack and corner of both Lucifer and Sams souls. The insides started heating up, and smoke and fire started coming out of his eyes. Lucifer couldn't even scream in pain. Through the blind rage, Micheal felt that little worm again, inching its way up and into his ear.

_"Micheal," Dean spoke up, finally. "Micheal wait. There's a different way to end this."_

Lucifer's skin started to turn gray and cracked, his blood turning to lava, and the muscles evaporating into the air.

_"Micheal, I know you don't want to kill your brother." Dean's tone was urgent. "No brother does! So for Pete's sake please listen to me! If you love your brother, listen!"_

Lucifer's burning process stopped. A mangled husk of a body hung from Micheal's hands. Lucifer and Sam were still alive, if only just barely.

_"It's because I love my brother that I must kill him." Micheal said to Dean. "It's because of what he's done that he must die."_

_"Look, I get what you're feeling," Dean said, glad that he had Micheal's attention. "But there's nothing a family member could do that deserves death. It's a sin against the flesh, the soul, and the heart. Punishment can be many things, but if it's permanent, then it isn't punishment at all. It's treason. You can punish Lucifer, without killing him, so that he will never disobey an order or hurt anybody ever again."_

_Micheal felt puzzled, Dean felt it to. He reached into the angels mind, a dangerous move._

The hands on Dean's body started burning, they blistered and singed, a white fire engulfing the skin and bones.

_Dean pulled out Micheal's memories. The garden, where Micheal and Lucifer had spent so many days and eons praising god. Singing, flying, creating, they were Heavens unbeatable duo. Dean was surprised at the amount of memories that Micheal had of the good times with Lucifer, having kept them on reserve in his heart._

_"There's a way to save this, Micheal." Dean said, he stopped reaching. "You will never forgive yourself for killing your brother, no matter how evil he is. I know it."_

_There was a pause. Dean didn't like it at all. At first, he had thought that he had infuriated Micheal.  
_

_"Are you doing this just to save your brother?" Micheal asked._

_"You and I both know how it feels to raise a younger sibling, watch him grow and learn, look up to you. We'll do anything to keep them safe, keep them from harm. It's our job." Dean's voice was nostalgic. "Sympathize with me, and both of us can save our brothers."_

_Micheal paused, for a very long time. Then, finally;_

_"Tell me what to do."_

* * *

A/N: I know this may seem a _tad_ unrealistic, but I wrote this mostly for the emotion and idea that comes at the end. So please, read, review, and enjoy!_  
_


	5. Back in the Pit

A/N: So the battle conitnues(again) but this time it's more Dean telling Micheal how to do things. Epicness to come

* * *

_On a stormy sea of moving emotion_

_tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean_

_I set a course for winds of fortune_

_but I hear the voices say..._

Lucifer was certainly surprised when he found himself being pulled from the pain and burning, his body being healed on some other accord. When Lucifer, and Sam, recovered from the pain, he burst his eyes open, gulped in a large lungful of air and screamed from the pain that had no doubt almost killed him. He looked down and around, eyes falling on the man that had him hoisted in the air, hands burning with a white fire. Micheal had a concentrated look on his face, the whites of his eyes glowing, but his iris' were flooded with a bright blue light. A strange feeling emanated in Lucifer's breast, and quickly spread to the rest of his body, small little snaps and cracks sounding in Lucifer's head as he felt his hold on his vessel coming loose. Light started coming off of Sam's body, and Lucifer tilted his head backward, trying desperately to keep his soul trapped within the confines of Sam's body. He knew what his brother was doing, and couldn't believe it. Sam seemed to also know, and as a result, pushed, scratched and kicked Lucifer to the edge of his grasp. In the end, it was actually Sam that kicked the devil out.

With a roar, Micheal separated Sam from Lucifer, throwing Sam's body to the side in a heap, but his body was completely whole. His mind however was dazed and light, trying to reattach itself to it's own body, feeling every pore, hair, and cell with a rush of exhilaration of being back in control. In Micheal's hands he clutched a form that shined with a black light, a light that withered and killed all that it shined upon. The form struggled against Dean's burnt hands. But the smoldering hands held tight. As he held Lucifer, his fingers began to burn away to bone, what was left of the skin and muscle flaking away in the wind.

"Sam!" Micheal called out to the man just barely gaining consciousness. "Samuel!"

Sam struggled to get to his feet. He turned around and stared with blurry vision at the angel. Sam saw his brother, looking lighter and stronger somehow, holding tight to what looked like a demon. Sam shook his head, trying to get everything in order. No, that wasn't Dean. It was Micheal, possessing Dean. And that demon was actually Lucifer, the dark angel, the light bringer. Sam felt a pang in his chest when he saw that Dean's hands were completely black, his bone having been charred and singed to the point of brittleness. It was hard to believe that they hadn't fallen apart already.

"Sam, open the gate to the cage with the rings! Now!" Micheal's voice strained more from struggling to keep Lucifer in his clutches than actual pain. But the pain was still immense. Even for Micheal.

Sam's head cleared, and he reached inside his pocket and withdrew the rings. He threw them on the ground between him and Micheal. He repeated the incantation that would open the gate, and the ground sank in on itself, opening into a great hole that sucked everything into it's lasting darkness. Sam could here the screams from where he was standing, and could have sworn that those weren't there when Dean had opened the gate. And how was it possible that Sam could look upon Lucifer's form with any harm? Sam pushed the small concern back into the corner of his mind and backed away from the opening, keeping himself from the strong pull.

Micheal shifted his hold on Lucifer, and his brother screeched at him with an ear shattering tone. A small mountain erupted out of the ground not just a few meters away from where they were standing, complete with snow and rubble. Micheal lead Lucifer towards the hole, and when he was near the very edge, he hefted his brother over the pit, with a singed-bony hand creaking in protest. The only thing keeping the phalanges together was Micheal's will to end the fight, long with Dean's undying need to protect his little brother. Micheal stared deep into Lucifer's eyes, glowing just as his were. There was a slight calm moment, when both of them looked at each other, and all the words they had ever wanted to say to each other were finally exchanged.

Lucifer glared at Micheal and gave a beastly roar. Micheal didn't change his expression, which caught Lucifer off guard. Micheal said three words in the angelic language, with one tear rolling out of his left eye.

With that, Micheal dropped Lucifer back into his cage, screaming in anguish and terror in his eyes, to spend another eternity trapped in darkness.

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A/N: Yeah, I didn't know he could do that either, but apparently Dean did :/. It's not the end yet, so hang tight, read, review, and enjoy!


	6. A Deal's a Deal

A/N: This is wrapping up, so I thought I would end it with some deep emotional heartbreak. Just the kind of thing you would expect.

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_Carry on, you will always remember_

_carry on, nothing equals the splendor!_

_Now your life's no longer empty_

_surely heaven waits for you!_

A bright light burst from the cage, covering everything in a burning intensity. Sam covered his eyes, while Micheal stared with a blank expression as the door to hell closed, with his little brother trapped inside forever. When the light faded, Sam lowered his arm to see that the landscape had returned completely back to a normal cemetary. Just one last miracle. Micheal stood over the spot where he had just dropped Lucifer. Micheal bent over to pick up the rings that lay glowing hot on the ground, his hand completely charred bone, thin and weak. He examined the keys, wondering how something so small could possibly be so powerful, and then turned to Sam.

Sam lowered his arm, his eyes already turning red with sorrow. He knew what was coming, like a forbidden truth that he saw right before his eyes, standing there in the form of his brother. It was as though he had a wrecking ball aimed at his heart, waiting for it all to come crashing down. Micheal walked over to Sam, and held out the rings for Sam to take. Sam just stared into Micheal's-no, Dean's-green eyes.

"Dean...?" Sam's voice threatened to break. Could he dare to Hope? Pray, that things would be okay?

"You're brother saved the world, Sam." Micheal spoke back. He patiently continued to hold the rings in his outstretched hand. Sam took the rings, careful not to touch the black bone. Micheal seemed to deflate somehow, as if Sam had just lifted a burden. "When I leave him, he will be alright, and-"

Micheal stopped as if to listen. A look crossed his face that Sam couldn't decifer. Sam watched as Micheal mumbled a little under his breath, and stared down at his hands.

"What?" Sam asked, his voice dry. "What's he saying?"

"He's telling me not to bother with the hands, and that he won't be needing them anymore."

"What? Why?" Sam panicked. No, this couldn't be happening. Sam felt that urge to make Dean see sense with whatever stupid thing he was planning growing.

As an answer, Micheal looked up over Sam's shoulder. Sam spun to see a boney man with a hooked nose and a fancy suite. His black hair had receded far past his forehead, and was slicked back in a tight skull cap. Although he looked week, there was something about him that spoke of old and unimaginable power. Sam had never met this man before, but a gut instinct told him that he knew who he was.

"Because he broke our deal." Death said, his voice was nasally. His eyes were like black marbles, and glistened with an unnatrual dullness. "Doesn't matter that he still got Lucifer in the box, he had specific instructions to let you take the dive."

Sam felt his jaw drop. Dean had never told him this. To make a deal with death? Was that worse than making deals with demons? Surely, it was not a deal that someone would want to break. What could have caused Dean to be so reckless? Sam already knew that answer, too. Finally, the tears started to whelm his eyes. Sam blinked them away and grunted getting up.

"Micheal," Sam spun back around to the angel. "Can't you stop him?"

"I'm sorry, Sam." Micheal's voice held pity, which sounded strange coming from Dean's mouth. "He's Death, a natural force at work. And a deal's a deal."

Sam clasped his hands behind his head, sucking in breath, hoping to keep calm. "Damn it, he saved the world! He shouldn't have to die because of it."

"Sam, he knew he was going to die one way or another." Micheal stepped up to him. His eyes had stopped glowing and everything about him looked almost human. Except for when he put his hand on Sams shoulder. A strange feeling of peace helped calm Sam down. "But he's not going to hell, be thankful for that. He'll finally be at peace."

"Yes, beautiful speech. And now if you'll excuse me, Micheal, I have business to attend to." Death said sounding bored. He pulled out a very old looking pocket watch, looked at it, shook it, looked at it again, then put it away. Micheal shot a look at Death, then back to Sam. "Dean told me to give you something, to tell you that-"

"Tell him that he needs to stop thinking about me!" Sam screamed. Micheal tilted his head towards the side, and Sam looked over. Laying on the dead grass was a blonde woman in a white dress. She was young and had an angular face, her sleeping form almost motionless excpet for the rising and falling of her chest. Sam gasped.

Jessica stirred, but didn't wake. She was just as beautiful as the last time Sam saw her alive.

"Dean told me that you loved her, and that you will take care of her and do anything to keep her alive." Micheal smiled. Also a strange thing upon Dean's face. Those muscles hadn't been used in a long time. "Live long, Sam Winchester, don't forget what happened here today."

Micheal took a couple steps back from Sam, and lifted his arms up. The sky opened up and a single beam of light shafted down onto the archangel. Micheal closed his eyes as his vessel's form was lifted from the ground, and light began to shine from within. A euphoric chord of music filled the air and rang out across the land. Sam almost lost his mind listening to it. He closed his eyes as well and waited for the light and music to fade away. When they did, Sam almost didn't open his eyes, afriad what he was going to see.

Where Micheal had just been there was now a small cottonwood tree, only about fifteen feet tall. The small pointed leaves were a vibrant gree, inlike the rest of the trees in the cemetary that were already in the late stages of fall. A man was sitting under the tree, his eyes half-open and his arms hanging limply at his sides, the bone hands lying on the ground motionless. When Sam approached, Dean turned his head ever so slowly to look at Sam with eyes that were too shiny. Dean smiled.

"Sammy..." Dean's voice was very weak.

Sam dropped to the ground and put his hands on Dean's shoulders, moving Dean off of the tree and into his arms very slowly as Dean hissed and moaned a little with pain. Sam looked down at the burnt bones that made up his brother's hands and finally broke trying to imagine what sort of pain Dean was in. Tears fell from his face and onto Dean's leather jacket. Dean kept smiling. Sam saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. Death was advancing on them.

"No, stay back!" Sam yelled. He clutched Dean tightly, and projected as much hatred and anger towards the horseman. He seemed a little amused by this, but did not stop.

"Wait..." Dean said looking at Death. Death stopped in his tracks, not really even sure why. "Be with...you shortly...just give me a minute."

Death looked irritated, but waited. It was probably the first time in Death's long, boring, and nuetral existance where he had chosen to let someone delay their own death. But it was plain to see that Dean Winchester would not be going anywhere.

Sam looked back down at Dean, who was smiling. Still smiling. God damnit why was he smiling? "We put up...one hell of...a fight, didn't we?"

"Dean," Sam could barely control himself, and his urge to pump Death full of rock salt and make for the hills. "Dean why? You promised me..."

"Had to...keep you safe..." Dean croaked out. His eyelids were beginning to droop again. But his smile stayed. "It's...my job. Always has been...always will be..."

"Dean-" Sam didn't know what to say to his dying brother. But Dean spoke up first.

"Sam, take...take Jessica." Dean whispered, and they both knew he didn't have much time. "Get married...have kids...it's what I want for you. And remember, Sammy...that I will always love you."

Dean's eyes finally closed, and all his muscles relaxed completely and indefinitely. Sam almost cried out from sheer misery, but it was as if he was too sad to cry. The Impala was still sitting there by the entrance, and the smell of Dean's leather coat still tickled his nostrils. How, how could Sam possibly live, when after so long he had relied on one person to be his rock, when everything he did came from that person? How could he go one...now that that person was gone. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Jessica, looking down at him with a look that told him she knew about everything that happened. Sam looked at Death, who held a small orb of light in his hand. It was small, about the size of a ping pong ball. But yet it gave off a brilliant light, more full of life than anything Sam had ever seen. Death clasped the soul in his hand and tucked it into a pocket inside his suite.

"Where will he go?" Sam asked. Death looked down at the man. How interesting these two were. Death could only begin to count the number of times he had heard stories about these two when escorting souls.

"Well, like Micheal said, he's not going to hell. So that only leaves one place left, right?" Death answered vaguely. "Not to worry, dear boy. I hear they have a special spot reserved for him in heaven."

With that, Death was gone, like he was never there. Leaving a young cottonwood tree, a could spot in the air, Sam, Jessica, and Dean's body.

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A/N: OK, don't tell me you didn't feel _something_ when you read that. I was bawling on the inside. Last chapter is next, so thanks for hanging on. Read, review, and enjoy!


	7. Carry On

A/N: Last chapter! Like it or leave it! It's been a good little run. Thank you all.

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_Carry on my wayward son_

_there'll be peace when you are done_

_lay your weary head to rest_

_don't you cry no more..._

The funeral pyre for Dean burned long into the night. Jessica had stayed by Sam's side until the last ember went out. She was wearing Sam's jacket over her dress, and Sam held Dean's favorite leather jacket in his hands, but he didn't put it on. She could tell he was cold, and didn't want to be warmed by the flames that licked at Dean's body. But she wasn't really sure she should try to comfort him. She had learned from experience that it was best to just leave a person in this kind of situation alone. But there was something she could do.

Jessica clasped her hands together in front of her lips and prayed. She prayed that Dean was truly in a better place, at rest, and watching over her and Sam. She thanked him, for sticking to his life long duty of protecting Sam at all cost, no matter what happened to him. She also thanked him for all the good he'd brought into the world, that he should know the world was a little better place because of it. Dean was a true hero, a true hunter, and most of all, a true brother. _Amen_.

She undid her hands and opened her eyes. The last of the embers had finally died away, and she turned to Sam, who apparently had been watching her the whole time she prayed. There was a look of gratitude in his eyes as well as deep sorrow.

Jessica stepped towards him with her arms open, and Sam met her halfway. They embraced each other, both knowing they would have never done so again if it wasn't for Dean. Jessica felt Sam shaking, and offered gentle hushes, rubbing her hand up and down his back. Sam moved his head from buried into her neck to the top of her head, he took a deep breath. He stepped away and held the woman at arms length.

"You are so beautiful." Sam said, smiling down at her. She gave a tired smile back, and Sam wrapped his arm around her. "Come one, let's get out of here."

Sam pulled out the keys to the Impala, which he had also plucked off of Dean's body. As they both walked to the car, Sam chanced one glance over his shoulder, maybe hoping to see Dean standing there with a thumbs up and a kinky smile on his face. But all he saw was the rising sun and the smoking pyre. The wind kicked up, starting to scatter the ashes. Sam slowed, swearing he could have seen Dean's smiling face in the could of ashes. Dean's face winked at Sam, and then was finally blown off into the distance.

"Sam?" Jessica asked, looking up at him. "We can stay if you want to."

"No it's fine." Sam smiled at her. Both of them were extremely tired.

They both climbed into the Impala and started the car. Adam was still out of it in the back seat, where Jess and Sam had moved him. The tape Dean had put in to play "Rock of Ages" had moved onto the next song. "Miss You In a Heartbeat" started off with a graceful piano that graced both of their ears. Sam sat back and listened to the song for a minute, and when the song got to the chorus, he started the car, and backed out of Stull's Cemetery. When he hit the road, Jessica had fallen asleep. He looked at her peaceful expression, then back at the road ahead of them. He didn't know where he was going physically, but Sam saw that the future held a scenario much like what he saw now. A rising sun, presenting new opportunity and new possibilities. A gift given to him by his brother, and a wish that the life ahead would be filled with nothing but peace, happiness, and love. Sam grinned. _Yeah, let's see how long that lasts.

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A/N: They Lyrics at the beginning at each chapter are from "Carry on Wayward Son", if you didn't figure that out. I kind of liked it how each different verse kind of matched up with the chapter. Thank you for hanging on with me! I know this isn't the most popular kind of story. But, hey, check out my other ones, "Tenebrea" and "Thalissinus" for more Sam and Dean adventures. While it's still the last chapter, read, review, and enjoy!_  
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